Tinder Paying Users Fall 5% as Match Group Refocuses on Conversations

Tinder’s average monthly paying users fell 5% in the quarter ended June 30, 2026, as Match Group aligned product teams around a measure of users reaching six-message conversations to improve engagement.

The dating app averaged 8.5 million paying users per month, and its direct revenue declined 1% from a year earlier to $457 million. Daily active users fell 4%, while monthly active users dropped 7% over the same period.

The shared measure, called Sparks, counts Tinder users who participate in a conversation in which two people exchange at least six messages in total during a week. It counts users who reach that threshold, rather than conversations or time spent talking. Sparks fell 4% year over year in the second quarter. Sparks Coverage, the share of active users who experienced one, rose 2% from a year earlier.

Match Group and Tinder CEO Spencer Rascoff asked employees how they defined success after taking charge of Tinder. Some employees pointed to quarterly financial targets. Tinder’s product, design and engineering teams now share Sparks as a measure of what users do after they match.

The product changes include Double Date and Events, which give users additional ways to connect. Tinder also uses AI in profiles, recommendations and safety features. Engineers review AI-generated code, which accounts for more than 90% of the app’s new code.

The measures show different parts of Tinder’s performance. Paying users and direct revenue reflect its commercial results, while Sparks tracks participation after a match. A larger share of active users reached the message threshold even as the number of users doing so declined. The metric does not establish how many conversations led to in-person dates.

Rascoff has identified winning back former users as part of the next phase. Tinder is adjusting its recommendations and adding features intended to help users move from matches to conversations.